U.S. Women’s National Team star Sophia Wilson is back with the Portland Thorns this NWSL season on a $1 million player option.
When she exercised the deal this offseason, Wilson’s contract was the first in league history to hit seven figures in one season.
“It was exciting,” Wilson said in a recent interview with Front Office Sports. “And also it was, I think, knowing that it was a step in the right direction, not just for me, but for women’s sports in general and for players in the NWSL.”
The forward, 25, is back for both club and country after giving birth in September to daughter Gigi. Wilson, formerly Smith, is married to Arizona Falcons wide receiver Michael Wilson.
“There were mixed emotions about it,” she said of the deal, “because obviously I was coming back from pregnancy and having a baby, and so maybe there were questions around it for people wondering why me or why now in this time in my career. But I think regardless of all of that, I have proven year after year that I am valuable.”
Wilson made her return for the USWNT on Saturday against Japan. She has appeared in all five games for the Thorns so far this spring after missing all of 2025
Drafted by the Thorns in 2020 at 19, months after winning a national championship with Stanford, Wilson has become one of the league’s biggest stars. She led the league in goals in 2023 and was the league’s No. 3 scorer in her last season in 2024.
“And I think this was just showing everyone, showing the world that female athletes, the product is there and we deserve to be paid accordingly,” she said. “So it was all in all a positive thing, I think, for the sport.”
After Wilson’s contract, the NWSL announced a new “High Impact Player” rule that let teams go over the cap for one star player and opened the door for her USWNT teammate Trinity Rodman to sign a historic three-year deal with the Washington Spirit worth over $2 million annually. The National Women’s Soccer League Players Association filed a grievance with the league over the mechanics of that rule, which is still ongoing.
Wilson said she’s “very in the moment” when asked about the HIP rule and how it could impact any of her future contracts.
“I do think overall it’s a positive thing that players are being paid more, are able to kind of negotiate for what they’re worth,” Wilson said. “Whatever that looks like in whatever form it is is not up to me, but I think all around just paying players more is moving in the right direction.”
